The Research Foundation of State University of New York (Syosset, NY) Stony Brook Professor and Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists Stanislaus S. Wong and University of Buffalo Professor Sarbajit Banerjee reveal a process for manufacturing adducts made with a carbon nanotube and a transitional metal coordination complex, in which the metal of the complex is attached by a covalent linkage to at least one oxygen moiety on the nanotube.
The carbon nanotube adducts and manufacturing processes are detailed in U.S. Patent Application 20100004468, issued on January 7th. The new carbon nanotube adducts can be used in: sensors, a device used in molecular electronics, solar cells, a device used in optoelectronics, a device used in nanocatalysis, and scanning probe microscopy tips. The adducts can also be used to alter the physical, optical, electronic and structure qualities of a compound.
The carbon nanotube adducts and manufacturing processes are detailed in U.S. Patent Application 20100004468, issued on January 7th. The new carbon nanotube adducts can be used in: sensors, a device used in molecular electronics, solar cells, a device used in optoelectronics, a device used in nanocatalysis, and scanning probe microscopy tips. The adducts can also be used to alter the physical, optical, electronic and structure qualities of a compound.
U.S. Patent Application 20100004468, FIG. 1 shows (a) Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of unpurified, pristine nanotube bundles. Scale bar represents 700 nanometers (nm). (b) TEM of a purified single-walled carbon nanotube bundle. The scale bar denotes 30 nm. (c) TEM image showing exfoliation of nanotubes (functionalized with Wilkinson's complex) into smaller bundles and individual tubes. Scale bar is 30 nm.
Part of the derivatization process occurs as a result of salt formation initiated by a complementary attractive, zwitterionic interaction between carboxylic groups located at the ends, sidewalls, and defect sites of the oxidized SWNTs and amine moieties dangling from the side chain of the crown ether. This so-called ionic (charge-transfer) functionalization enhances the stability of SWNT solutions by effectively preventing nanotubes from aggregating in the solution state, though it does not necessarily prevent them from clumping together upon drying.
FIG. 10: A diagram showing that a SWNT-CE adduct likely arises from a zwitterionic interaction between a protonated amine on CE and an oxyanion from a carboxylic acid group, creating a COO-NH3+ ionic bond.
The adducts created by Wong and Banerjee are comprised of a carbon nanotube covalently linked, such as coordinatively linked, to at least one transitional metal coordination complex, or a carbon nanotube attached to at least one macrocyclic molecule.
The physical properties which can be modified by adducts include electronic properties, electrical properties, electromechanical properties, optical properties, chemical properties, mechanical properties, structural properties, thermal properties and thermoelectric properties.
The electrical properties which can be modified by adducts include, conductance, resistivity, carrier mobility, transport properties, permittivity, and charge transfer properties. The modification of conductance can be, for example, a tunability in conductance. The structural property modifications include elasticity and ease of composite formation
The physical properties which can be modified by adducts include electronic properties, electrical properties, electromechanical properties, optical properties, chemical properties, mechanical properties, structural properties, thermal properties and thermoelectric properties.
The electrical properties which can be modified by adducts include, conductance, resistivity, carrier mobility, transport properties, permittivity, and charge transfer properties. The modification of conductance can be, for example, a tunability in conductance. The structural property modifications include elasticity and ease of composite formation
The carbon nanotubes of the adducts comprise graphene in cylindrical form. The nanotubes preferably have open ends. Alternatively, the nanotubes can have one or two hemispherical caps on their ends. In addition to the hexagonal carbon rings of graphene, the caps can comprise pentagonal rings of carbon. The carbon nanotube can be a semi-conducting nanotube or a metallic nanotube. (A metallic nanotube has no band gap.)
The carbon nanotube can be either single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) or multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs). A SWNT comprises only one nanotube. A MWNT comprises more than one nanotube each having a different diameter. Thus, the smallest diameter tube is encapsulated by a larger diameter tube, which in turn, is encapsulated by another larger diameter nanotube.
An adduct is a new chemical species AB, each molecular entity of which is formed by direct combination of two separate molecular entities A and B in such a way that there is change in connectivity, but no loss, of atoms within the moieties A and B.
